Hock submits shock transfer request

Former England forward Gareth Hock looks to have played his last match for Salford after submitting a shock transfer request.

Hock, who turns 31 on Friday, is just one year into a four-year contract with the Red Devils but, according to chairman Marwan Koukash, has asked to leave the club.

" Gareth Hock has asked to leave the club and we have agreed to his request provided it is at the right terms," Koukash said on his Twitter account.

Hock spent last season on loan to Widnes after falling out with his home-town club Wigan and joined Salford after pulling out of a proposed move to Australian club Parramatta Eels.

If the second rower seeks to pursue his Australian dream, it would take a transfer fee to prize him from Salford.

Hock tweeted: "I would like to thank @SalfordDevils for accepting my transfer request, been a hard decision but I think is the right for both parties."

Hock, who was thrown out of the England squad on the eve of the World Cup last October for a series of breaches of discipline, is currently serving a seven-match suspension for deliberately making contact with a referee during Salford's win over Hull in July.

Meanwhile, Koukash has cancelled Salford's end-of-year party after they failed to reach the Super League play-offs.

Koukash had set a target of a top-four finish for last year's wooden spoonists after a major overhaul of the team, claiming he would be disappointed if they failed to make the top six, but last Sunday's 42-6 defeat at Wakefield ended their hopes of finishing in the top eight with two games left of the regular season.

The angry chairman has responded by cancelling the players' annual end-of-season celebration, which was due to be held this weekend.

"We have nothing to celebrate," Koukash said. "We have not won anything and we are not in the play-offs.

"We focus our energy instead on winning our last two games - not handing out awards when we have not won anything of significance.

"To me, winning is everything and I have always made this very clear.

"I guess some fans can understand where I am coming from and they will be disappointed but the presentation will not happen."